Teachers express shock over shooting at Sparks Middle School

Oct. 21, 2013

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The death of a math teacher from Monday morning’s shooting at Sparks Middle School hit the local teaching community hard.

Several colleagues of math teacher Michael Landsberry declined comment when reached Monday afternoon, only saying that he was a wonderful person who cared deeply about his students.

Landsberry was shot and killed while trying to talk down the shooter, a student at Sparks Middle School who wounded two other students before fatally turning the gun on himself.

Nikki Wilson, a special education math teacher at Sparks Middle School, said all comments regarding the shooting is being referred to the Washoe County School out of respect for the wishes of all families involved. Nevertheless, Wilson had positive words about her colleague.

“Mike was a great guy and teacher and will be missed by all,” Wilson said via email.

Reno Art Works co-founder Aric Shapiro, who subcontracts as an art teacher at several area charter schools, says the shock among teachers is understandable.

“It’s terrifying,” Shapiro said. “I just drove by that school last Friday and never in a million years would I have expected something like this to happen. It just shows how fragile life is.”

Shapiro, who also has experience working with at-risk youth, said he can’t imagine being shot by one of the kids he teaches. With all the reports of school shootings from across the country, however, it’s clear that these are different times, he said.

Middle school and high school are especially a challenge given the changes and wide range of emotions that kids deal with, Shapiro said.

“Middle school is just a tough time for everyone,” Shapiro said. “You’re growing up and starting to have adult thoughts but you still have a child’s mind and body. It can be a very emotional time.”

Shapiro says he doesn’t know how he would react if he heard gunshots while in school. What Landsberry did, however, was understandable, Shapiro added.

“Whether you’re a defender of the peace, an active citizen or just a human being, you have to go and check things out,” Shapiro said. “You can’t run away from that, especially when you have kids there. He probably went there thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll go down but I can at least prevent (the shooter) from harming 20 other kids.”